Our supported internship in north west London
Learners on our supported internship in north west London complete a minimum of 420 hours
work experience
Work
experience
Experience is when you have learned or tried something before.
is when you try out a job to help you learn new skills.
over the year. We can offer work experience placements with employers in retail, hospitality and facilities management.
Employers we work with in north west London
Fair Shot Cafe. A cafe in Covent Garden, central London, that offers work experience to people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
and
autism
Autism is a disability. Autistic people find it difficult to understand what other people think and feel. They also find it difficult to tell people what they think and feel. Everyone with autism is different.
. Learners gain experience in barista work, preparing food and serving customers.
Greene King. The UK's biggest pub chain. Hospitality work experience placements available in front of house and back of house roles - waiting on tables, serving at the bar and working in kitchens.
Delfont Mackintosh. Theatre operator in London's west end. Front of house placements available - selling tickets and merchandise and showing audience members to their seats.
Bella Italia. Italian restaurant chain. Front and back of house work experience placements available.
Chopstix Noodle Bar. Noodle restaurant chain. Front and back of house work experience placements available in London restaurants and administration placements available at Chopstix's head office in Kentish Town.
BNP Paribas Real Estate. Learners can do administrative and facilities management work experience placements - working on reception desks and in the maintenance teams at properties in London managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Mitie. Leading facilities management company. Work experience placements available working in the front of house and maintenance teams at sites and properties where Mitie deliver services.
Classroom learning
Learners on our north west London supported internship attend sessions at Unit 3, 30 Friern Park in North Finchley 1.5 days a week between September and July, learning employabiltiy skills. They spend the rest of the week in their work experience placements.
83% of learners who completed our supported internship in north west London in 2023/24 got a paid job!
Leah's story
Leah previously completed our supported internship in north west London. Through her work experience with Mitie, she discovered a love for working outdoors.
Leah went on to secure a paid job with Mitie. She also gave a presentation about her work experience at Mitie's offices in the Shard and won a £500 prize!
How can young people enrol on this programme?
To express an interest in joining our supported internship in north west London and to start the enrolment process, please complete our online expression of interest form.
If you or the person you are enquiring on behalf of are eligible for a supported internship, then a member of the team will work to get in touch with you within 14 working days.
Before we can agree to enrol learners, we will need to see a copy of the young person's EHCP and to meet with them to discuss why they want to do a supported internship, as well as their skills, needs and interests.
Our London prospectus
You can find out more about all our programmes in London in our 2025/26 prospectus.
Our classroom where we deliver the classroom learning elements of our supported internship in north west London is at Friern Park in north Finchley. It is a 0.6 mile (14 minute) walk from Woodside Park tube station. It is also close to bus stops on the 125, 263 and 383 routes (Tally Ho Corner and Torrington Park bus stops) and the 131 and 221 routes (Churchfield Avenue bus stop).
Learners on the supported internship attend sessions at our classroom 1.5 days a week. The rest of the week is spent in their work experience placements which could potentially take place nearer to learners' homes if needed.
We understand that some people may not have much experience of travelling on their own and may feel nervous about finding their way to our classrooms and to their work experience placements.
We encourage people to come and visit our premises before enrolling to see what it’s like and to get a sense of the journey from home. We also try to arrange meetings with employers where learners will do work experience before they start on the programme so they can experience the journey to the workplace as well.
You may also be able to get some independent travel training support before joining the supported internship from your local council.
Mencap can also provide travel training for up to 6 weeks at the start of the supported internship to help learners learn the routes to their work experience placements.
If you would like to enquire about enrolling on our supported internship in north west London, then the best way to start the process is by completing our online expression of interest form.
However, if you would like to get in touch with a member of the team directly, then please contact the programme coordinator in north west London, Megan Clark.
0208 3461 237
For general enquiries, you can also contact: employment.support@mencap.org.uk